Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[DznyGrlSD]

Holy moley I remember this menu quite vividly!! Of course, my favorite King Stefan's menu was the children's menu that could be folded into a crown.

back when it was still worth the $$ to eat in the castle. The prices are crazy now and the food isn't that great.

 

[The Visionary Soul]

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Beautiful, yet still doesn't describe why King Stefan from Sleeping Beauty would have his banquet hall in Cinderella Castle. Then again, Cinderella opening a restaurant in her own castle doesn't make all that much sense either.

 

[asianway]

Hey Spirit

I was at Sawgrass Friday evening and decided to pop into the Outlet Store (Character Outlet/Premiere/Whatever It Calls Itself These Days). The inventory was dismal, to say the least. My only score was an EPCOT 30 baseball cap reduced to $4.99 - it was the last one, and I was very happy to have discovered it!

I've been able to pick up some great stuff in the past (like the MK 40th anniversary plate set, it's a small world plate set, silk-screened tin attraction poster set, etc.), but that store is so hit or miss (come to think of it, more "miss"). The apparel is so atrocious, but seeing Carsland merchandise from DCA is always a laugh!

Perhaps I'll run into you at the Outlet one day, laughing over a rack of "I'm With The Band" shirts!

You should see a good inflow when the marketplace coop stuff bombs. I'm surprised they are taking that risk when they won't even do a print run on an attraction poster tshirt without locking in preorders.

 

[Astro Blaster]

He might as well be aired on one of the Disney propaganda channels in the resorts. His drivel is so awful it cannot be taken seriously by anyone who has any life at all.

I listen when I feel like having some WDW mixed in with my day, not when I'm trying to get any serious WDW news.

He makes a lot of money off the Disney name, and I'd assume the company feels it's better to have an "unofficial" representative who loves everything Disney instead of a certified paid employee.

 

[wdisney9000]

To test?

Testing, yes. But so many people were all too happy to exclaim how 'they knew it was going to happen'. Yeah right, they knew nothing, they hoped, as we all did, but they had no solid evidence and the proof being that if they did have such evidence they would have definitely shared it. I would bet money Disney didnt even know they would have to add more.

They thought three would be enough. Like I said before, what purpose would it serve them to keep it a secret that they were adding more? @Lord_Vader may be correct about underpromise and overdeliver. They very well may have had that mindset but I would venture it was more towards the tech side of it, not FP+ distribution. Who knows, but thats my point, nobody but Disney did. And all the people high fiving each other in the thread about it are funny because they treat it as some type of victory over the folks who are not fans of MM+. The same 'anti-MM+' crowd that were critical of it for only having 3 FP+ and voiced their concerns could have very well played a part in Disney deciding to add more, and by 'anti-MM+' Im not just referring to people here, but everybody, people at the parks, people on other websites, people who wrote e-mails, etc. The 'I love MM+' group didnt do much but sit back and defend it and now act as if they served some purpose in it becoming (slightly) better.

Id say that Disney had every intention of it being 3 FP+ and no park hopping and keeping it that way. The predictions that it was an attempt to simply keep you on property were correct and its backed up by the comments made by Rasullo and others with quotes like 'going after a bigger share of your wallet'. They dont care about your vacation being enhanced, they just want the money, and they were to ignorant to realize that allowing park hopping would keep people on property, they thought taking it away would keep you at the same park all day. Another clear cut case of the executives who know nothing about theme parks because they dont care about/visit them. So the 'complainers' begin complaining and then Disney changes it to the way it should have been from the start and the defenders of MM+ pat each other on the back. They are more clueless than little ol' Fedra when she wonders where all her extra YT views came from.

 

[TinkerBell9988]

You should see a good inflow when the marketplace coop stuff bombs. I'm surprised they are taking that risk when they won't even do a print run on an attraction poster tshirt without locking in preorders.

Agreed. If you're on twitter, check out my tweets from this morning (I'm @ericarose). I work for an apparel company and manage the licensed screen printed t-shirts, so I was able to share some thoughts on Disney Design Group's "business practices" with these stupid limited release shirts.

I don't think the Marketplace Co Op stuff will totally bomb, because that stuff will only be sold at that location and online (supposedly. This could change, of course). Perhaps they will not manufacture a ton of products so they don't have to hold a lot of inventory and then send it off to the outlet stores after a few months of low sell thrus.

 

[WildcatDen]

I read somewhere, maybe in this very thread, where these boards were compared to Sports Talk Radio. You know, you call in to bash your team but then you turn around and take the family to a game and drop $300 or $400 for an evening of entertainment. Skip over to the Magic where we feel free to bash the 'Team', talk about how much better we would be if we just did what the competition was doing, and then we go and drop $3,000 or $4,000 for a week's worth of entertainment. Whoever came up with that one, nailed it. To quote our gladiator friend, "Are we not entertained?"

Happy Tax Day!

 

[FigmentFreak]

Beautiful, yet still doesn't describe why King Stefan from Sleeping Beauty would have his banquet hall in Cinderella Castle. Then again, Cinderella opening a restaurant in her own castle doesn't make all that much sense either.

Times are tough and a girls got to do whatever it takes to keep the castle paying for itself.

 

[wdisney9000]

I read somewhere, maybe in this very thread, where these boards were compared to Sports Talk Radio. You know, you call in to bash your team but then you turn around and take the family to a game and drop $300 or $400 for an evening of entertainment. Skip over to the Magic where we feel free to bash the 'Team', talk about how much better we would be if we just did what the competition was doing, and then we go and drop $3,000 or $4,000 for a week's worth of entertainment. Whoever came up with that one, nailed it. To quote our gladiator friend, "Are we not entertained?"

Happy Tax Day!

Thats just dumb. The "team" in this case would be the parks, we may bash the managers and owners for their decisions but we LOVE the team. I love the Atlanta Braves, and Falcons. I may get ed when mgmt makes an odd call but that doesnt mean I cancel my season tickets. Everybody makes mistakes. If you feel we should just accept everything without question or never have a concern then you and whoever came up with that theory are EXACTLY the type of customer Disney wants. I use the word customer because thats how they look at people nowadays, your not a guest, your a walking wallet. So just sit back and watch as they continue to raise prices and eliminate things such as street performers in EPCOT and Push the talking trash can and replace them with nothing so they can show profits to wall street and claim they are from MM+.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

@WDW1974

Spirit, I'm not trying to hijack your thread with someone else's blog, but did you see this article on MiceAge today?

It's a WDW menu from the mid 80s.

That's a perfect example of the effort Disney used to put into its parks. Look at the period-appropriate ads for all of Main Street, including the functioning Cinema, Magic Shop, and Arcade. Read the fictional account of Main Street citizens. This is a menu.

While we're at it, remember the die-cut Cinderella coach menus at King Stefan's Royal Banquet Hall?

Today you're lucky to get a sheet of paper that isn't sticky.

Reading that breaks my heart.

I remember that WDW so well. It is so difficult to pinpoint exactly what has been stripped over the years since then. But this helps. Seeing so much together in one place is just shocking. Heartbreaking. A MS cinema that is advertised with Charlie Chaplin instead of a cartoon Disney IP, unique shops, the whole land working together to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. A Disney focused the making the best park and the best guest experience rather than exploiting both as much as possible. So sad.

And great design and surprising sophistication too. This was a time when the heart of the MK experience wasn't a snotty-nosed toddler shooting neon aliens with his plastic gun.

 

[jlsHouston]

Oh, with all that talk about MM+ expanding to allow fourth, fifth and even sixth FPs a day, has any of this even started?

Nada

 

[71jason]

Beautiful, yet still doesn't describe why King Stefan from Sleeping Beauty would have his banquet hall in Cinderella Castle. Then again, Cinderella opening a restaurant in her own castle doesn't make all that much sense either.

Ancient European tradition--like Beowulf and all that--you name your mead hall after your closest ally as a sign of respect/friendship.

 

[sporadic]

Ancient European tradition--like Beowulf and all that--you name your mead hall after your closest ally as a sign of respect/friendship.

Now... This is what they need!! An after-hours mead hall in the castle!!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Beautiful, yet still doesn't describe why King Stefan from Sleeping Beauty would have his banquet hall in Cinderella Castle. Then again, Cinderella opening a restaurant in her own castle doesn't make all that much sense either.

It's a creative license. The King in Disney's Cinderella wasn't asigned a proper name, so they used it. Can't there be more than one Stefan? The menu says the castle is inspired by many things, most of which are not based on the animated works of the company. It's not intended to be a copy 'n paste of what you saw in the cartoon.

It's why the proper name has no possessive. It's not her castle, it's inspired by the concept.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Ratatouille is confirmed to officially open July 10. This new video shows it will not be 85% screen based :

 

[bubbles1812]

Beautiful, yet still doesn't describe why King Stefan from Sleeping Beauty would have his banquet hall in Cinderella Castle. Then again, Cinderella opening a restaurant in her own castle doesn't make all that much sense either.

He hadn't seen his daughter in so long you could understand how he might be confused between Aurora and Cinderella. And that's not to mention all that ale he and King Hubert enjoyed...

Or you could go with the more technical (and accurate) explanation provided by @Animaniac93-98, but his doesn't involve alcohol so I'm sticking with mine

 

[WildcatDen]

Thats just dumb.

Wow. Witty and too the point. Did I do anything more than point out the anology. Of course, being a Braves fan, I may need to repeat it, S L O W E R. . Ha ha. People are loud critics of their sports teams and still patronize. These boards are loud critics of the WDC and still patronize. Did I stutter?

5 callers ahead of you now Jimmy, one just dropped. . .

 

[coolbeans14]

Ratatouille is confirmed to officially open July 10. This new video shows it will not be 85% screen based :

Was it just me, or was the Pixar guy's stare a little intense?

 

[BrianLo]

This new video shows it will not be 85% screen based :

Absolutely. At best only 50% of the ride is spent in a projection dome:

Spoiler: some ride specifics

(4/10 scenes, or 4/8 without load and unload "scenes"). Even for some of those there will be pretty sizeable props, such as the massive dining cart you'll be under when viewing out into the dining room. I imagine the only scene that's going to be completely screen reliant (ie. no major physical props around you) is when each vehicle enters its own motion pod to venture through the walls. That I think will be pretty cool and unique so it certainly gets a pass from me.

Now what we don't know is what we'll get in the way of AA's. Remy would be interesting as you'll be his size... the only way I imagine encountering humans though is via screens.

 

[asianway]

Agreed. If you're on twitter, check out my tweets from this morning (I'm @ericarose). I work for an apparel company and manage the licensed screen printed t-shirts, so I was able to share some thoughts on Disney Design Group's "business practices" with these stupid limited release shirts.

I don't think the Marketplace Co Op stuff will totally bomb, because that stuff will only be sold at that location and online (supposedly. This could change, of course). Perhaps they will not manufacture a ton of products so they don't have to hold a lot of inventory and then send it off to the outlet stores after a few months of low sell thrus.

I see

But isn't some of this coop stuff showing up at DLR already?

The limited release shirt is ridiculous. It eliminates impulse buys and severely limits exposure. Not counting your comments on how beefy they are lol